Thera 2.16: Mahakala
Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Theragatha >> Thera(136):Mahakala Adapted from the Archaic Translation by Mrs. C.A.F. Rhys Davids. Commentary (Atthakatha) By Acariya Dhammapala Note: 'C' in Pali text is pronounced as 'ch' as in 'China'. ---- Chapter II. Two Verses =136. Mahākāḷa= Reborn in this Buddha-age at the town of Setavyā, in the family of a merchant, he was named Mahākāḷa.1 When come of age and living at home, he took five hundred carts of merchandise to trade with to Sāvatthī. While resting there with his men in the evening, he saw the lay people going with perfumes and garlands to the Jeta Grove, and went with them. There he heard the Lord(Buddha) preach the Path(Dhamma), believed, and entered the Monk’s order. Deciding on cremation-ground-meditation, he lived in the charnel-field(cemetry). And one day a woman named Kāḷi, employed as cremation lady ,2 in order to give the Thera an object-study, cut off from a recently cremated body both thighs and both arms, and breaking the head into the resemblance of a milk-bowl, arranged all 124 the members together, placed them where the Thera studied for him to look at, and sat down at the side. The Thera seeing this taught himself in these verses: ---- 151 Kāḷi itthī brahatī dhaŋkarūpā|| Satthiɱ ca bhetvā aparaɱ ca satthiɱ,|| Bāhaɱ ca bhetvā aparaɱ ca bāhuɱ|| Sīsaɱ ca bhetvā dadhithālakaɱ va|| Esā nisinnā abhisaddahitvā.|| || 152 Yo ve avidvā upadhiɱ karoti|| Punappunaɱ dukkhamupeti mando,|| Tasmā pajānaɱ upadhiɱ na kayirā|| Māhuɱ puna bhinnasiro sayissanti.|| || ---- 151 Kāḷī, woman broad and big, of hue as blackbird, Now has broken off a thighbone, now another; Now has broken off an arm, and now another; Now the skull has broken off as it was a milk bowl, Made them ready and is seated. 152 He who witless did not understand, but makes Cause for life renewed, comes back again to sorrow. For that reason he who knows creates no more new causes. May I never so lie again with scattered members!3 ---- Thus wholly sell-mastered, the Thera brought forth insight and won arahantship(enlightenment). ---- 1 So the Commentary; not ṅkāla. The name thus means 'big dark one,' or, in the convenient Italian nomenclature, Neraccio. Kāḷī, too, is 'brunette.' 2 In - Jāt., v. 449, we meet with a man pursuing this trade. 3 The account of Kāḷī's activity closes with an odd half line, as if to mark, by a pause, the abrupt transition from the Thera's half amused notice of her grisly service, to the solemn quest of the End of Sorrow on which he is bent. This is a good instance of a poem which is scarcely intelligible without the Commentary's help. With that help, the more literal the translation, the more intelligible is the verse. Without it we have but to look at Dr. Neumann's guessing and forced rendering, making Kāḷī a wanton, and the good bhikkhu(monk) a prurient - minded fellow, to realize how relatively sane and simple even a scholastic exegesis may be. The practice of Asubha-jhāna, or meditation on a base of some unlovely object, was recommended from the early days of the Sangha, and, to judge by the accompanying illustration of a Ceylonese bhikkhu(monk) of to-day, is still practised. Cf. Bud. Psy., p. 69, n. 2. ---- =2.2-6 136 Commentary on the stanza of Mahākālatthera= The stanza starting with Kāḷi itthī constitutes that of the venerable Thera Mahākāla. What is the origin? This one also, having done devoted deeds of service toward former Buddhas, accumulating meritorious deeds in this and that existence, was reborn in a family home ninety one aeons (kappa) ago; on having attained the age of intelligence, he went, on a certain business, to the forest where, he caught sight of a robe of rags from fust heap (paṃsukūla) hanging on a branch of a certain tree, became pious-minded saying; “A flag of the noble (ariyaddhajo) stands hanging down.” collected kiṅkani flowers and made his reverential offerings to the ragged raiment (paṃsukūla). On account of that act of merit, he wandered about his rounds of repeated rebirths among divine and human beings and was reborn in the family of a caravan leader in the city of Setabya when this Buddha arose: he gained the name Mahādāla; on having attained the age of intelligence, while leading a household life, he went to Sāvatthi by way of carrying on commerce, having collected merchandise in five hundred carts; on having reached there, he made his caravan of carts enter a corner had his fatigue of journey disappeared and was seated together with his own retinue, when in the evening he happened to have caught sight of devotees holding in their hands perfumes and flower-garlands, on their way to Jetavana, himself also, together with them, went to the monastery, listened to the truth (dhamma) in the presence of the Master, aptly gained pious faith, became a monk, and dwelt in a cemetry with his resolute observance of the graveyard austere practice. Then, one day, a lady named Kāḷī, whose duty was to burn the dead, for the purpose of facilitating the mantal exercise (kammaṭṭhāna) of the Thera, broke both the thighs and both the arms as well as the head of a recent dead-body similar to breaking a tray of milk-curds, made but a combination of all the major and minor members (of the dead body) placed (the same) at the place of practice (yogya) for the Thera to look at and sat down on one side. On having seen the same, the Thera spoke two stanzas in order to instruct himself:– 151 “Kāḷī is a lady with a big body and crow complexion; having broken one thigh after another, having broken an arm and then another, having broken the head like unto a tray of milk curd, she has got herself seated after having specially united them. 152 “Whoever, indeed, without being wise (avidvā) makes a substratum (upadhi), that man of meagre intelligence en- counters painful misery again and again. Therefore, one should not make substratum for living creatures; may I not sleep broken-headed again. There, Kāḷī means her name. Alternatively it has been said so owing to the condition of dark complexion. Brahati means: big bodied, lady who possesses height and girth. Daṅkarūpā means: She looks like a crow owing to the condition of her black complexion. Satthiñ ca bhetvā means: having broken the thigh of the dead body by breaking the knee. Aparañca satthiṃ means: having broken the other thigh also. Bāhañ ca bhettvā means: having broken the armbone also, but at the place of top of the arm even, Sīsañ ca bhatvā dadhi tālakaṃ va means: having broken the head of the dead body; but being broken it resembles a tray of milk curd trickling down due to (being hit) by stones, sticks and so on; having made the brain become dripping down; thus, is the meaning, esānisinnā ahhisandahitvā means: She is seated as if she is having a meat market spread after having made composite entity, having had them united by placing but according as they stood even those details of cut and broken separate limbs of the dead body. Yo ve avidvā upadhiṃ karoti means: Whoever, unwise and unclever although having seen his meantal exercise (kammaṭṭhāna) served by this, causes the substratum of depravity (kilesupadhiṃ) to arise owing to unwise (ayoniso) mindfulness after having given up (chaḍḍetvā) his mental exercise (kammaṭhāna); mando means; that man of meagre wisdom, owing to his not having got over his rounds of repeated rebirths (saṃsāra), punappunaṃ dukkhaṃ upeti means: now and then suffers painful misery in purgatory and so on. Tasmā pajānaṃ upadhiṃ na kayirā. Tasmā means: since this is in this manner also, therefore. Pajānaṃ upadhiṃ means: One should not make nor cause the substratum of depravity to arise by rationally knowing thus: “Here, whatever comes into being is painful misery (dukkha),” and by making oneself wisely mindful. Why? Mā’haṃ puna bhinnasiro sayissaṃ means: according as this dead body lies with broken limbs, in the same manner, may I not be made to sleep with broken head, after having been buried repeatedly in a cemetry (kaṭasivaḍḍhako) owing to having sprung up again and again in my rounds of repeated rebirths (saṃsāra). Saying but in this manner, the Thera indulged intensively in developing spiritual insight (vipassanā) and attained Arahantship. Hence, has it been said in the Apadāna:– “Not far from Himavanta, there was a hill named Udaṅgana. There I caught sight of a ragged raiment (paṃsukūla) clearly hanging at a tree-top. Three Kiṅkani flowers did I then pluck; joyfully with joyous heart, I made my reverential offering to the robe of refuse-rags (paṃsukūla). On account of that act well-performed, with my volition and resolution, also, I forsook my human body and went to Tāvatiṃsa. It was ninety one aeons (kappa) ago, that I then did this deed. I do not remember any evil existence after I had made my reverential offering to the noble standard (arahaddhaja, holy amblem). My depravity had been burnt; … Buddha’s instruction had been carried out.” The Commentary on the stanza of the Thera Mahākāla is complete. ----